Blu-ray Review: DINNER WITH LEATHERFACE (2024)

 

DINNER WITH LEATHERFACE

Written & Directed by:  Michael Kallio

Distributed by:  Anchor Bay Entertainment  / MVD Entertainment

  I had the honor of meeting Gunnar Hansen many years ago at Texas Frightmare Weekend, the annual Horror Movie Convention I attend each year in the Dallas area.   He was a very kind, soft spoken man, and I remember thinking how crazy it was that he was the actor that portrayed the character of Leatherface in the 1974 film, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE.    He was so kind and polite, and made time for all his fans lined up to see him.   This is a documentary about Mr. Hansen, as told through first hand accounts of actors and crew that worked with him over the years. 

Here is a brief description of the film from IMDb.com:

Documentary about Gunnar Hansen, the actor who portrayed Leatherface in "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974). Friends, colleagues, filmmakers, and fellow actors share personal stories and discuss the dichotomy between the maniacal chainsaw-wielding character he played on-screen and the very intelligent, creative, soft-spoken man he actually was in real life.

 I love horror movie documentaries, and this was a great one to get the honor of reviewing.   DINNER WITH LEATHERFACE touches briefly on Mr. Hansen's background with him being born in Reykjavik, Iceland, and then moving to the U.S. at the age of 5.   He went to the University of Texas an majored in English and Mathematics.  He worked as a computer operator right out of college and took the role in THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE just to make some extra money during the summer.   I'm sure he thought he'd go right back to his computer operator job, but little did he know the film would be such a hit and would lead him down the road of movie making!   I often wonder while filming if any of the cast/crew had any idea just what exactly they were creating.   THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE is my favorite horror film of all time, and is widely considered one of the best horror films ever made.   It still holds up today, and is just as scary when I watch it now as it was the first time I saw it.   This is undoubtedly largely due to Mr. Hansen's amazing portrayal of Leatherface!

 As I mentioned before, this is basically a set of interviews from some actors and filmmakers that worked directly with Mr. Hansen and they just recount the times they shared with him.  You can tell from all the interviews that he made a deep impact on everyone he worked with.  He was truly loved by all!   

  Interviewees include  Barbara Crampton, Bruce Campbell, Edwin Neal, Kane Hodder, Felissa Rose, Michelle Bauer, Tiffany Shepis, Debbie Rochon, Fred Olen Ray, Betsy Baker, Allen Danziger, Kim Henkel, William Vail, and many more!   

 This was a very touching tribute to Gunner Hansen and is a must see for all his fans!

DINNER WITH LEATHERFACE is available now from Anchor Bay Entertainment and contains the following Special Features:

 *  Audio commentary with writer/director Michael Kallio and editor Josh Wagner

 

 *  Extended Interview with filmmaker and historian MIchael Felsher

 *  Extended interview with fimmaker Jeff Burr

 

 *  Convention Chat with actress Danielle Harris

 

 *  Southern Hospitality Trailer - 2022 Remastered, Recut, HD

 *  Tales of Gunner Hansen

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CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD